Multifunctional Mediators in Plant Development and Stress Response

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 2665

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy
Interests: proline metabolism; amino acids; drought stress; plant development; proline–ROS interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems-National Research Council (IRET-CNR), 00015 Rome, Italy
Interests: plant molecular biology; plant physiology; plant development; phytoremediation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The developmental programs that regulate growth and differentiation in plants are controlled by plant hormones, such as auxins, cytokinins, gibberellic acid, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid. These hormones activate the expression of downstream master regulator genes that encode transcription factors and enzymes essential for plant development. However, as sessile organisms, plants are continuously exposed to environmental and developmental stresses that must be detected and counterbalanced to ensure normal growth and development. To this end, several multifunctional mediators, including amino acids, polyamines, polyphenols, sugars, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and small molecules, interact with key pathways to integrate downstream responses and fine-tune both developmental processes and stress responses. Understanding the multifunctional mediators that play critical roles in both plant development and stress resilience is essential for advancing agricultural practices and ensuring food security. This knowledge is of utmost importance to face the unprecedented threats posed by ongoing climate change. This Special Issue aims to explore the diverse roles of these mediators, including their physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms, as well as their practical applications.

Dr. Maurizio Trovato
Dr. Davide Marzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • amino acids
  • polyphenols
  • polyamines
  • reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  • phytohormones
  • abiotic stress
  • plant development
  • plant physiology

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

26 pages, 2185 KiB  
Review
Proline and ROS: A Unified Mechanism in Plant Development and Stress Response?
by Marco Renzetti, Dietmar Funck and Maurizio Trovato
Plants 2025, 14(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14010002 - 24 Dec 2024
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2389
Abstract
The proteinogenic amino acid proline plays crucial roles in both plant development and stress responses, far exceeding its role in protein synthesis. However, the molecular mechanisms and the relative importance of these additional functions of proline remain under study. It is well documented [...] Read more.
The proteinogenic amino acid proline plays crucial roles in both plant development and stress responses, far exceeding its role in protein synthesis. However, the molecular mechanisms and the relative importance of these additional functions of proline remain under study. It is well documented that both stress responses and developmental processes are associated with proline accumulation. Under stress conditions, proline is believed to confer stress tolerance, while under physiological conditions, it assists in developmental processes, particularly during the reproductive phase. Due to proline’s properties as a compatible osmolyte and potential reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, most of its beneficial effects have historically been attributed to the physicochemical consequences of its accumulation in plants. However, emerging evidence points to proline metabolism as the primary driver of these beneficial effects. Recent reports have shown that proline metabolism, in addition to supporting reproductive development, can modulate root meristem size by controlling ROS accumulation and distribution in the root meristem. The dynamic interplay between proline and ROS highlights a sophisticated regulatory network essential for plant resilience and survival. This fine-tuning mechanism, enabled by the pro-oxidant and antioxidant properties of compartmentalized proline metabolism, can modulate redox balance and ROS homeostasis, potentially explaining many of the multiple roles attributed to proline. This review uniquely integrates recent findings on the dual role of proline in both ROS scavenging and signaling, provides an updated overview of the most recent research published to date, and proposes a unified mechanism that could account for many of the multiple roles assigned to proline in plant development and stress defense. By focusing on the interplay between proline and ROS, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of this proposed mechanism and highlight the potential applications in improving crop resilience to environmental stress. Additionally, we address current gaps in understanding and suggest future research directions to further elucidate the complex roles of proline in plant biology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Mediators in Plant Development and Stress Response)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop